NDSS Methods

Diabetes in Canada: Highlights from the National Diabetes Surveillance System, 2004-2005

Tables and Figures

People With Diagnosed Diabetes (Prevalence)

People Aged 1 and Older

In 2004-2005, approximately 1.8 million, or about 1 in 18 people, in Canada, had diagnosed diabetes according to the NDSS data (1,806,269 cases overall, 862,808 among females and 943,461 among males). The prevalence rate for both males and females was 5.5% (5.2% among females and 5.8% among males). (Table 1 and 2)

According to the NDSS data, in 2004-2005, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes was lower among children than adults. The rates increased with age from about 2% among individuals in their 30's to about 21%, or 1 in 5 adults age 75 to 79. (Figure 1 and Table 2)

According to the NDSS data, the age-standardized prevalence for 2004-2005 was 4.7% overall, 4.2% among females and 5.2% among males (Figure 2). A technique called age-standardization dampens the influence of the underlying difference in age distributions from each province or territory, enabling fairer comparisons among populations and over time. For example, before age-standardization, a province with an older population than another will have a higher prevalence of diabetes, all other things being equal. Age-standardization reduces the effect of different age structures when we compare across jurisdictions and time periods. This is useful for diseases, such as diabetes, where the prevalence rates differ significantly among age groups and increase with age.

After adjusting the rates due to differences in age distributions among provinces and territories, the age-standardized prevalence of diagnosed diabetes was found to be higher in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Ontario and was lower in Quebec, British Columbia, Yukon, Alberta, and Nunavut compared to the other provinces and territories. (Figure 2)

After adjusting the rates due to differences in the age distributions among the provinces and territories across time, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes has increased by 24% between 2000-2001 and 2004-2005. (Figure 3)